Training Deep in the Two Realms Mountain Range

Early the next morning, Chen Lin bid farewell to his family, mounted his swift horse, rode out through the southern city gate, and headed straight for the military fortress in the Two Realms Mountain Range.

With a horse, a journey that had originally taken more than an hour now took only half an hour. Chen Lin soon arrived at Nanxing Fortress, one of the three military fortresses.

He stabled his horse inside the fortress.

Fully armed, Chen Lin left the fortress and headed straight into the depths of the Two Realms Mountain Range.

Having just tasted the sweetness of spending Slaughter Points to increase his abilities, Chen Lin had no intention of wasting these next few days.

Heading south all the way, he casually harvested every demonic beast he encountered, regardless of whether it was strong or weak.

The Slaughter Points he harvested were spent either on Basic Swordplay or Basic Movement Technique.

His strength steadily grew.

Day after day passed. Ever since Chen Lin had left Nanxing Fortress, he had not returned even once.

When hungry, he ate demonic beast meat. When thirsty, he drank mountain spring water or river water.

When exhausted, he cultivated the Mysterious Origin Body Tempering Technique; when resting, he practiced Divine Firmament Swordplay.

Every day, Chen Lin kept himself fully occupied.

After Chen Lin slaughtered madly without rest for three days and nights, by the fourth day, his attributes had become:

[Host: Chen Lin]

[Realm: Mid-stage Martial Master]

[Soul: 130]

[True Qi: 0]

[Physical Strength: 148]

[Slaughter Points: 30]

[Techniques: Soul Strengthening Technique Level 10, Mysterious Origin Body Tempering Technique Level 1 (35/100), Basic Body Tempering Method Level 10]

[Martial Skills: Divine Firmament Swordplay Level 1 (25/500), Basic Swordplay Level 10, Basic Movement Technique Level 10]

All his basic techniques had been raised to their maximum level. Not only had Chen Lin's physical strength increased considerably, but his soul had also grown by quite a bit.

Most importantly, the proficiency required to cultivate Divine Firmament Swordplay had dropped from one thousand to five hundred, directly cutting the advancement requirement in half.

More importantly still, with Basic Movement Technique reaching perfection, Chen Lin's control over his own body had risen to another level, reaching an extraordinarily subtle level that was already infinitely close to the realm of mastery.

Satisfied after reviewing the results of his recent cultivation, Chen Lin rose to his feet and prepared to head back.

On his way back, Chen Lin had to admit that he was rather lucky.

He actually ran into a herd of Red-Horned Black Bulls along the way.

Chen Lin had been worried about not finding a herd of demonic beasts to harvest for Slaughter Points and improve his strength. Now that this herd of Red-Horned Black Bulls had run into him, it was like mice meeting a cat—their fate hung between life and death.

With a swing of his sword, carrying the attacking techniques of Divine Firmament Swordplay, he sent the demonic beasts, whose strength had reached the late stage of Demon Soldier, fleeing in utter disarray.

A whole herd of Red-Horned Black Bulls was chased and slaughtered by Chen Lin alone.

Even the nearby demonic beasts were caught in the upheaval and had no choice but to flee for their lives alongside the Red-Horned Black Bulls.

He pursued and slaughtered them for a full hour, reducing the herd to only two or three stragglers before finally stopping.

Choosing a relatively sturdy calf, Chen Lin began preparing his dinner for the day.

While making dinner, Chen Lin took the time to raise the Mysterious Origin Body Tempering Technique by one level.

The instant the Mysterious Origin Body Tempering Technique reached Level 2, Chen Lin felt as though his body had begun a new round of strengthening.

It first tightened continuously, then vast quantities of qi and blood were squeezed out from every limb and bone of his body.

Then, as though stimulated, every pore across his body began involuntarily devouring the free spiritual energy outside.

Chen Lin realized something was wrong and hurriedly sat cross-legged, beginning to cultivate according to the Mysterious Origin Body Tempering Technique's cultivation formula.

At once, spiritual energy within a radius of nearly three thousand meters began surging toward his body in great quantities.

Massive amounts of spiritual energy were drawn into his body through his pores, then continuously transformed into qi and blood, scouring Chen Lin's body again and again.

Every round of scouring was accompanied by immense pain.

Chen Lin felt as though the muscles all over his body were being hammered without end by iron hammers. Wave after wave of pain made his face twist uncontrollably.

Chen Lin gritted his teeth and endured for nearly an hour. When the pain finally receded like the tide, he immediately felt his whole body lighten.

Opening his eyes, Chen Lin flexed his hand and felt that his strength seemed to have increased by no small amount once more.

Opening the Slaughter Jade Book and seeing the increase in his attributes, Chen Lin immediately broke into a broad grin.

The value that had previously been 148 had now become 163, an increase of fifteen whole points. His soul had likewise risen from 130 to 145, also an increase of fifteen points.

Combined, this upgrade to the Mysterious Origin Body Tempering Technique had added a full thirty attribute points for him. He had won big.

His realm had also advanced from the mid-stage Martial Master to the late-stage Martial Master.

Such a rapid breakthrough in realm would probably make plenty of jaws drop if word got out.

Seeing the 200 points required to raise the Mysterious Origin Body Tempering Technique to Level 3 gave Chen Lin a headache.

He had thought he was already gathering Slaughter Points quickly enough, but unexpectedly, every technique he cultivated was a massive drain on Slaughter Points.

Not to mention that he still had two techniques he had yet to cultivate. Once he got started on those two, Chen Lin estimated that his demand for Slaughter Points would grow even greater.

Moreover, the technique for upgrading his soul had already reached its maximum level. He no longer had a technique that could specifically strengthen his soul. This was also a problem Chen Lin would eventually have to face.

Without a technique to strengthen his soul, the strength of his soul had already begun to fall behind the strength of his physical body.

Opening his eyes, Chen Lin suddenly caught a strong smell of something burnt.

"Fuck!" Chen Lin immediately got to his feet and saw that his grilled beef had turned into charred meat. Left with no choice, he started grilling another piece.

After resting well for the night, Chen Lin continued on his way back.

But as he walked, he saw the stones on the ground trembling violently. His eyes widened, and he hurriedly found the nearest large tree and shot up into it.

Looking around, Chen Lin saw waves upon waves of black masses of demonic beast herds suddenly surging up from behind him. He froze for a moment, then his face darkened. He immediately leaped from the tree and sprinted madly toward Nanxing Fortress.

Though he had only caught a fleeting glimpse, Chen Lin already understood what had happened.

"A Beast Tide? How could there be a Beast Tide? Could another Demon King-level demonic beast have appeared in Two Realms Mountain?"

Chen Lin fled frantically as he muttered to himself in disbelief.

According to the inherited memories Chen Lin possessed, whenever a Beast Tide appeared, a Demon King was certain to emerge as well. That was because the prerequisite for launching a Beast Tide was the leadership of a Demon King.

But the problem was that although Two Realms Mountain still belonged to the Demonic Beast Territory, after more than a decade of human cleansing campaigns, there had long been no demonic beasts above the Demon General level.

Especially in the region bordering Nanqing City, even Demon General-level demonic beasts were rare. How could a Demon King-level demonic beast suddenly appear?!

No matter how Chen Lin thought about it, he could not make sense of it. He could only keep accelerating toward Nanxing Fortress, hoping to deliver this news there as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, if the three fortresses stationed here were unprepared when faced with the ferocious Beast Tide, they would certainly suffer devastating losses. That was something Chen Lin did not want to see.

Because eighty li behind the three great fortresses lay Nanqing City, where his family lived.

If the three great fortresses could not hold, Nanqing City would inevitably be caught up in the disaster. By then, who knew how many people would die.